QPR - A Rangers Revolution

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Yeti01

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4 May 2013

"I have been exploited...but I don’t think I will be exploited anymore"


It was one week after QPR had been relegated to the Championship following the culmination of the 2012/13 season that chairman Tony Fernandes made the above statement of intent to the BBC. QPR had been seen as a club full of mercenaries during his tenure to date however the following season would see a departure from that modus operandi with the only signings coming in being free transfers, loans or under the radar transfers such as Charlie Austin and Matt Phillips.

Season 13/14 was expected to be a season of consolidation in the championship however the R's came out firing, topping the table after 9 games and whilst they would falter somewhat down the stretch, finishing the season in 4th, they would eventually go on to win promotion to the Premiership thanks to a dramatic win over Derby in the playoff final in front of 87,000 people.


Season 14/15 had begun in much the same fashion with the key purchases being Steven Caulker from recently relegated Cardiff and goalkeeper Alex McCarthy from Reading. Fernandes and QPR were looking ahead with optimism hoping to establish a foothold in the premiership this season however their plans were soon to be thrown into disarray.
 
26 June 2014

I'm too old for this...

Fernandes sat at his desk, not able to immediately comprehend what was unfolding in front of him. "Boss, its no big secret that I've got a dodgy ticker and I'm not sure that I'm up for another stressful battle against relegation" Redknapp calmly explained, "Don't get me wrong Boss, I believe in the plan, I believe in the buys we've made and I believe the boys are good enough to stay up. What they desperately need though is a gaffer who is going to give absolutely everything to them team. They need more than i can give."


Fernandes let his gaze linger on Rednapp slumped in his chair as he absorbed Harry's bombshell. As he took in Harrys face he understood the full extent of the toll the job took. The sunken eyes, gaunt expression and even rosier than usual cheeks showed that Harry was already doing it tough and the season was still months away.

“At the end of the day there are some things more important than football Harry, you take care of yourself.” Tony spoke with resignation as he rose to his feet and offered his hand continuing “You know you’ll always be welcome here. I won’t forget what you’ve done for the club over the past season”. ‘****’ Fernandes thought to himself as he resumed his position in his leather executive chair ‘What am I going to do now?’

 
27 June 2014

Decisions, decisions, decisions...

Fernandes looked at the pile of CV's strewn out before him surrounded by his brains trust of Amit Bhatia and Mark Donnelly. It was Bhatia who broke the silence, "what about Simon Grayson at Preston North End? He has them travelling pretty well considering what he's had to work with." Fernandes gave the CV a quick peruse and replied "I'm not sure if he is up to it sorry, he could be, but I can't afford to risk it with him."

Donnelly then took the opportunity to offer his point of view interjecting "How about Martin Jol? He wouldn't come cheap but he has been through the fire with Tottenham and Fulham so he knows the premiership". "No, his agent made it abundantly clear he would only be coming if we gave him a sizeable transfer budget" Tony countered, "he doesn't fit the plan".

Fernandes let his head rest in his hands. 'The plan' he thought to himself, 'got to stick to the plan'. Then it became clear. Fernandes rose smiling, "what we need is someone not only with the skill but also who understands the plan. And I know exactly who that is. Their name isn't anywhere in here though" his hands gesturing to the mountain of resumes in front of him, "shred these".
 
28 June 2014

New beginnings - Les Ferdinand appointment press conference


Neil Ashton (Daily Mail) - "Tony, what made you feel that Les Ferdinand is the man to take QPR to the next level?"

TF - "Look, I understand externally it may appear that we are taking a risk on a somewhat unknown quantity however to us it was a no brainer. Les has the tactical nous having passed the requirements to be given a UEFA pro license during his time working under Tim Sherwood at Tottenham. Also having been around the club Les has been able to significant input into our recent recruiting so I've seen firsthand his talent for spotting undervalued assets and in turn he understands what we are trying to achieve here. Put those two together with the fact that he is an absolute legend within the club made it clear for me.


Nick Rostron-Pike (Talksport) - "Les, you've got quite a challenge in front of you, how do you feel the squad stacks up?"

LF - "I think the squad is fine as is. We've already recruited well this offseason. McCarthy is ready to challenge Rob Green in goal, defensively we have Steven Caulker coming in to play with Dunne and Ferdinand, we have good depth through the middle of the park with Faurlin, Fer, Barton, Henry, Zarate and Sandro and also out wide with Philips, Adel, Niko and Hoillet. Up front we are a bit light behind Charlie and that is somewhere we will look to create depth likely with a loan signing.


Charlie Nocholas (Sky Sports) - "So what you are saying is that there won’t be any expenditure this season? The fans can't be happy with that?"

TF - "I'll take this, no one is saying there won’t be any expenditure. What we will continue to do is look to opportunity to exploit market inefficiencies."
 
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OK - A bit of a break from the action

This is my first Manager Story so happy to take on board any and all feedback. Content, Formatting, you name it I'm ok with criticism

Guidelines for my game are as follows;
  • First 2-3 seasons look to build a squad using players from the English lower leagues, preferably younger or under valued prospects.
  • Keep wages low! QPR have been playing too many average players like they are world beaters... If I can I will move them on, otherwise, I will let their contracts run without renewal.
  • Of course the above has to be relative to expectations - should I find myself pushing for Europe then I can buy overseas based players once we have the means to make such purchases sustainable.
Goals by season;
  • Season 1 - Establish QPR in the premiership, aiming for a mid-table finish.
  • Season 2 - aiming for a top half finish,
  • Season 3 - contending for European qualification
  • Season 4 - Uefa Cup Qualification
  • Season 5 - Champions League Qualification
  • Season 5+ - Contending for the Premiership
Each season the in game expectations will be set to match.
 
I think your targets are easily achievable for a team like QPR. Funds are there, just need to get rid of a lot of the overpaid deadwood and QPR could easily be a great team within 5 seasons. Good luck mate
 
1 July

First Impressions

Ferdinand surveyed the field, taking in the scent of freshly mowed grass, and internally ran the rule over his team. His brain working like a flashy abacus as he weighed the pros and cons of each player against balancing the books.

'We've got a bit over 100k free in the wage budget but there's some guys here who, despite the plan, are nowhere near worth what we are paying them.' Ferdinand didnt hold them responsible, he'd been a player himself so he knew how fleeting a career could be and that you had to get what you could when you could but he also realised he couldn’t empathise with that viewpoint anymore. He was responsible for providing QPR fans with the most efficient use of the clubs resources and that mean some players had to go.

He ran over the names and wages in his head of players he could jettison. 'Green - 50k a week, Wright Phillips - 60k a week, Barton - 50k a week' and they were just the big earners. Watching them get through their fitness tests it was obvious that Dunne, Henry and Les' own cousin Rio were also all declining physically which, given the intensity of the premiership, made it difficult to justify having them on the books at all.

Under 21's manager Steve Gallen who had played with Ferdinand at QPR sided up to him. "I've heard a few of the boys talking about it, they want to know if you are going to keep Joey on as captain. Whatever your thinking it might be worthwhile having a chat".

Les walked across to the other side of the pitch where Fernandes had emerged from his office and was welcoming a few of the players back from their break. "A word boss?" Les enquired, Tony nodded and they made their way a few feet further away from the pitch so they could have some privacy. Les started "About the youth policy we talked about last night i want to make a statement today and just wanted to confirm that you are still on board with everything". "I'm with you 100%, what kind of statement are you thinking of? Tony replied. Les just smiled and said "Come with me".

As Fernandes and Ferdinand approached the players got the sense something was up and all gathered in the middle of the pitch. "Sup gaffer?" Barton asked. Ferdinand took a breath, 'this could go a lot of different ways' he thought, "As you know Tony and I have been talking a lot recently about the plan. We're ready to move to the next level with that plan so I want to be upfront with all of you. Everyone here has a role to play at this club but for some it will not be as big as it previously may have been. We accept that for some of you this won’t be acceptable and we will endeavour to assist in any way we can with a move away from the club if you so wish. Now, to start with I want to make an announcement about the captain of the club. Steven Caulker, I know today is your first day but i want you to lead this team this year." Les watched as Steven shuffled on the spot and could sense that Steven felt the eyes of the rest of the squad burning into his back but felt immediate relief as Steven straightened up, looked him in the eye and said “Let’s go gaffer”.


Next up: Preseason and signings
 
Bullardinho said:
I think your targets are easily achievable for a team like QPR. Funds are there, just need to get rid of a lot of the overpaid deadwood and QPR could easily be a great team within 5 seasons. Good luck mate
Click to expand...

Cheers mate. That's definitely the plan. I must admit I am having a little more difficulty this time around getting rid of older players. In fairness though it is probably more realistic than previous FM's.
 
Yeti01 said:
Cheers mate. That's definitely the plan. I must admit I am having a little more difficulty this time around getting rid of older players. In fairness though it is probably more realistic than previous FM's.
Click to expand...

Yeh it definitely can be a struggle, sometimes it's just better to get rid of a player for pennies and save on the wage bill. It's when the player then asks you to pay 50% of his wages for the remainder of his contract that gets me!
 
11 August

Completion of preseason and purchases



Reasonably happy with our preseason. Some decent results and with few injuries to boot. The Boys look ready to roll.



Not too much action as yet. I have scouts out monitoring the Championship, League 1, 2 and the under 18 comp so should a decent prospect be identified there may be more transfers. I am happy with the purchase of Joe Gomez, he should provide a solid foundation for this side along with Caulker for years to come. Mason Bennett is a backup striker/shadow striker I have brought in from Derby. At only 18 he should hopefully be considered club trained along with Joe Gomez by the time I start pushing for Europe.

Lloyd Jones was meant to be my Richard Dunne replacement for the season but I haven't been able to move him or Wright Phillips. Also, with Faurlin out injured, Barton has earned a reprieve likely until the end of the season...
 
Some great signings. I've got Joe Gomez in my leed's save, I am in the 5th season and he is a great CB and a part of the England set up. Mason Bennett has always been good on previous editions of FM as well. Take a look at Chuba Akpom at Arsenal as well, I got him for less than a £1M and last season on loan in the Champ he got over 40 goals in all comps, defo ready for the 1st team!
 
Looking forward to seeing how you go with this career
 
1 Sep 2014

August Games Summary


View attachment 288879
We began well with Austin opening the scoring with a close range header from a brilliant Isla cross after 25 seconds. Rangel would equalise immediately after following some confusion and a failed clearance in our box from a free kick and the dagger would come also from a set piece with Bafetimbi Gomis reacting quickest to a torrid Sigurosson free kick that came back off the cross bar for a tap in. A bit disappointed to concede from 2 set pieces but following that we were the better side and should have at least taken a point from this game.


View attachment 288878
We were dominated. How we only managed to lose by one is a miracle. Fernandinho opened the scoring with a bullet header from a corner at the far post and then it seemed as though the flood gates would open. City recorded 25 shots to our 5 and had a tick under 60% possession. It has been enlightening to see the gap between us and the big boys though. A lot of work ahead of us.


View attachment 288877
I took the opportunity to rest my first team and gave starts to all my youngsters. Mason Bennett rewarded my faith with a neat finish from just inside the 18 yd box on the half hour. From there it was only one team that was going to win. My only disappointment was that we couldn’t put them away by scoring more.


View attachment 288876
Great performance. We really bossed the middle of the park and that set the foundation. Austin got himself on the soresheet again with a nice header at the back stick following some good lead up work from man of the match Vargas. Then followed a collector’s item as Rio Ferdinand rose highest at the back post from a corner to head us two in front. From there I felt we controlled the game well and to finish with almost 60% possession was pleasing.

A bit of a mixed bag of results then. We seem to be on the up though so hopefully we continue off where we finished this month. Somewhat concerningly though we appear to be conceded consistently from set pieces. I hope it can be attributed to some unfamiliarity between players but it will bear watching.
 
Bullardinho said:
Some great signings. I've got Joe Gomez in my leed's save, I am in the 5th season and he is a great CB and a part of the England set up. Mason Bennett has always been good on previous editions of FM as well. Take a look at Chuba Akpom at Arsenal as well, I got him for less than a £1M and last season on loan in the Champ he got over 40 goals in all comps, defo ready for the 1st team!
Click to expand...

I've just passed the end of the transfer window and tried to bring in Akpom on loan but failed as I can only have the 2 long term domestic loans!! Oh well. I'll be keeping an eye on him over the next few season as he looks like a player!
 
1 October 2014

September summary

Game 1
View attachment 288616
The less said about this game the better. I thought we played ok frst half and went into the break tied up at 1 all after Geoff Cameron converted a penalty followed by a Steven Caulker equaliser from a corner. The game though was a completely different affair after half time. We failed to complete even rudimentary passes and paid the price as Stoke ran in goals from Cameron (hat trick) and Odemwingie (x2) as they overran our midfield time and time again. Up till now it had been happy-go-lucky Les but the boys certainly saw my angry side at the end of the match. Not good enough.


Game 2
View attachment 288615
The boys were subsequently challenged to do better prior to the Villa match and I got an immediate response with Zarate netting after only 18 seconds!! This was followed up by a neat finish by Sandro just before the half hour after some nice lead up work by Austin and then our lead was extended shortly after when Caulker was able to get on the end of a Vargas corner and head home and although Andy Wiemann would drag a goal back minutes later the rout was complete just after the hour when Charlie Austin scored a tidy turn-and-finish following a cross from Taarabt. What a response from the boys. So chuffed. We know we are going to get knocked down a couple of times this season so to see them respond like this gives me a lot of hope for the season.


Game 3
View attachment 288613
Our 2nd​ round Capital cup match was a home tie against Leicester. Mason Bennett got us on our way after only 3 minutes with a good finish from just inside the 18. We were t2o goals to the good shortly after when Kranjcar scored a sweet volley) and it was that man again on the quarter hour tucking home a penalty after Bennett was brought down in the box. I know Karl likes to play on the edge but a needless red when we’ve got the game pretty much wrapped up is unforgivable. He got an official warning from me after the match. Thankfully though Leicester could only grab the single consolation goal in the 89th​ minute.


Game 4
View attachment 288612
Another fantastic result. The game appeared to be petering out to a draw before Taarabt was cynically cut down in the box by Winston Reid and Michael Oliver had no option but to point to the spot. Credit to Adel as he picked himself up, dusted himself off and sent Mignolet the wrong way with the game on the line. Ice cold. In fairness to Liverpool a draw would have been a more appropriate but I know there will be times we dominate and don’t win so I won’t be giving back the points!!


League Table
View attachment 288611

So in summary I have no idea what happened with the Stoke game – maybe it was just an anomaly. The other games were all very pleasing and although October starts with a very trick away fixture to Tottenham the other games are all winnable so I will be hoping to at least maintain, but hopefully build, on our already pleasing league position. Having said that we know that we can take nothing for granted this season – every game will be tough.

Oct Fixtures
View attachment 288610


***Other News - Future Transfer***

View attachment 288609
This month I was able to secure the signature of young Sheffield United prospect Jake Eastwood. I expect to lose Rob Green at the end of the season as he is out of contract so unless he is willing to come back on a significantly reduced deal (read: play for peanuts) then he is outta here. Jake will provide viable cover for Alex McCarthy starting next season and should also be considered club trained by the time we start pressing for Europe.
 
1 November 2014

October game summary


Game 1 – Tottenham (a), Premier League game 7

View attachment 288311
Tottenham dominated the early exchanges and rightfully took the lead in the 31st​ minute when Kane managed to get in behind Ferdinand before cutting back for Andros Townsend to tap in. We were the a little unlucky not to score in the 51st​ minute when a Austin shot came back off the post, onto the keeper and back onto the post before being cleared by Fazio. Crazy stuff…
I was quite disappointed with referee Lee Mason’s handling of the game and felt Fazio should have been sent off midway through the first half after some very rash challenges – to be honest it felt like he let the pressure of the home crowd get to him at times.
Things weren’t going all that great and I tried to make some changes in the 60th​ minute bringing on Kranjcar and Bennett for the ineffective Zarate and Vargas. We then fashioned a really good opening in the 76th​ minute when Carlie Austin was released through on goal however Lloris was up to the challenge palming the shot behind for a corner. We certainly weren’t disgraced but were definitely second best today. Fair play Tottenham.


Game 2 – Burnley (h), Premier League game 8

View attachment 288310
The team was told that a win was expected being that it was at home against Burnley. We were unlucky not to go ahead after 4 mins when Austin stuck the post and was just beaten to the rebound after some intricate lead up work involving Zarate, Sandro and Fer however the 1st​ half ended in frustration with many gilt edged chances having been missed.
As it always seems to go with these kinds of things Burnley would then take the lead early in the 2nd​ half when Michael Keane powered a header home at the near post from a corner – continuing our trend of conceding from set pieces. We should have equalized with Zarate was played through one on one with the keeper in the 60th​ minute but he dragged his chance wide. Remember when I said I wouldn’t had the points gained at Liverpool back? Well here is why, 3 times as many shots, twice as many on target… Just wasn't our day.


Game 3 – Crystal Palace (a), Premier League game 9

View attachment 288308
We desperately needed a result here after the way the last 2 fixtures had gone. Zarate got us off to a good start slotting home inside 3 minutes. Bolasie collected a 2nd​ yellow for simulation on the 40 minute mark so he was sent for an early bath. 5 minutes later the game was effectively over as Jedinak was also red carded for a rash challenge on Fer. Whist we didn’t trouble the scorers again we ran out comfortable winners with Palace restricted to just a few speculative efforts from well outside the 18.


Game 4 – Derby (a), Capital One Cup 4th​ Rd

View attachment 288307
Took the opportunity to play the 2nd​ string guys again. We didn’t start real well but a few subtle tweaks to the formation after 15 minutes seemed to spark the boys into life. Hoilett missed an open goal right before half time after a Bennett shot had been blocked. Nothing other much of note occurred until Hoilett was injured in extra time after we had made our 3 subs. Again our lack up quality up front hurt us as the game went to a shootout. Zarate, Barton, Gomez, Bennett, Doughty and Phillips all held their nerves to score for use whilst Whitbread missed for Derby mean we head on into the5th round.


Oct table
View attachment 288306
We finished the month up in 9th​ place. Considering that effectively a quarter of the season is over I am happy with where we are.



Nov Fixtures
View attachment 288305
Out of the 4 games I consider 3 of them winnable. Obviously the Man U game will be very tough but given it is at home you never know what might happen.
 
As mentioned above if anything has any feedback they'd like to offer I am happy to take it on board.
 
Good start to the season! Whereabouts in the table you aiming for?
 
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